LePage’s Win Is Major Story in Maine Politics
The rise of Mayor Paul LePage to the nomination as the Republican Candidate for governor is the major story in Maine politics this month. None of the scientific polls that this author saw prior to the primary election predicted his victory; the ones that I saw placed him no higher than third in the field of seven.
Yet the primary voters gave him a strong 38% of the vote in a strong seven candidate field; five candidates exceeded 9% of the total. LePage’s total votes were more than double those of the closest competitor. The Mayor also was outspent many-fold by several competitors, but his strong grass-roots, volunteer support carried the day. In this instance the various straw polls that LePage won in recent months were more indicative of the outcome than the regular polling efforts.
This author had reservations about the Mayor’s early statements that he would sign a “civil unions for homosexuals” bill if one passed the legislature. In the last days of the campaign LePage went to some lengths to abandon that position, citing his earlier “confusion” about the issue, and instead declared his support for real marriage and his opposition to counterfeits of marriage.
When the votes for Bill Beardsley, a strong marriage defender, are added to LePage’s totals, this strongly conservative voting block represented nearly half of the Republican primary vote; and certainly some pro-marriage voters and leaders supported several other candidates for various reasons. So support for marriage is alive and well in the GOP voting base.
Other LePage strengths for conservative Christian voters include his support for the sanctity of human life, his opposition to massive state debts, continual overspending, burdensome regulations, and confiscatory taxation.
One more plus for the Mayor of Waterville is his support for the freedom to homeschool, with LePage even suggesting in one debate that Maine should encourage homeschooling as part of the solution to the problems in public education administration and funding!
The website of the Maine Family Policy Council, a/k/a as the Christian Civic League, has an article about the LePage victory that is worth your time to read in full.
LePage Win Sends Shock Waves Through Augusta.
Excerpt:
LePage is unique in Maine for his ability to unite the voting public. In addition to having the support of the Tea Party movement, LePage will have the support of disaffected conservatives, blue collar workers, and Catholic voters. He is that type of political creature most dreaded by the power brokers who control state government from behind the scenes – a populist.
National polling firm Rasmussen shows LePage ahead in Maine:
The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race finds LePage earning the support of 43% of Likely Voters in the state, while Democrat Libby Mitchell picks up 36% of the vote. Democrat-turned-independent Eliot Cutler trails with seven percent (7%). Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.
[ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/maine/election_2010_maine_governor ]
Bob S.
June 12, 2010